By Dustin Tyler Joyce, USCM Intern
June 19, 2006

The Mayors’ National Dollar Wi$e Campaign awarded capacity grants to three cities at the 74th Annual Meeting of the Conference of Mayors in Las Vegas. Detroit received $25,000 while Bowling Green (KY), and Quincy (IL), received $15,000 each to enhance their ongoing financial literacy efforts.

Stan Kurland, President and COO of Countrywide Financial Corporation, presented the awards to the cities’ mayors during the Monday morning plenary session. Countrywide Financial is the founding sponsor of the Dollar Wi$e Campaign.

Detroit will use its grant to expand the existing Detroit Dollar Wi$e Campaign administered by the Child Care Coordinating Council of Detroit/Wayne County, Inc. (4C). In partnership with the office of Mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, 4C trains community members including educators, realtors, bankers, business leaders, and other community leaders to hold informational sessions about personal finance management. The Dollar Wi$e capacity grant will allow 4C to equip additional financial literacy trainers, increase the number of training classes and activities of existing financial literacy trainers, and enlarge its outreach programs to other community and business organizations.

Bowling Green’s capacity grant will fund a personal finance program to educate high school students on issues such as income, money management, spending and credit, saving and investing, and risk management, an important initiative for Mayor Elaine Walker. Grant money will also help provide financial education classes for residents in a drive to reduce bankruptcies. Additionally, the grant will strengthen efforts to increase the city’s homeownership rates by educating low- to moderate-income residents on credit scores and the home buying process in a series of grant-funded workshops.

Quincy’s grant will fund the Paycheck Partnership, a coalition of employers, educators, city officials including Mayor John A. Spring, and the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that works to increase financial literacy among teenagers and college students and decrease student debt. The Paycheck Partnership helps to increase teens’ understanding of their paycheck, how to spend and save wisely, and how to set and reach financial goals. With staff support from the Federal Reserve, the partnership also trains college students as financial literacy teachers and mentors.

“Enhancing financial education and promoting personal financial management is of critical importance,” commented Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neill, outgoing President of the United States Conference of Mayors. “I wholeheartedly endorse the National Dollar Wi$e Campaign’s efforts to promote financial education and appreciate the support of Countrywide Financial for making these grants possible.”

The grants are funded through a donation of $1 million over five years by Countrywide Financial. “Financial education is one of the most crucially important national initiatives underway at Countrywide because so many of our citizens lack the know-how to buy a home, invest or fully comprehend the importance of managing personal financial affairs,” remarked Stan Kurland.

The Dollar Wi$e capacity grants will be awarded over the next five years to cities that participate in the Dollar Wi$e Campaign and demonstrate outstanding and innovative ongoing financial literacy programs for their citizens.